1 Technical Field
The present device relates generally to a unitary, reusable beverage straw-containing device, more particularly a unitary beverage cup or a cup lid device with a removable bendable drinking straw removably enclosed within the cup or cup lid prior to use of the cup or cup lid and straw, and replaceable within the cup or cup lid after use.
2 Background Information
Currently, the great majority of beverage containers used by restaurants, particularly fast food establishments, are disposable beverage cups with separate, disposable lids and individual, disposable drinking straws. Conventional disposable beverage containers, container lids, and drinking straws are often separately stored in specially-designed storage containers. Sometimes, each beverage container, container lid, and drinking straw is separately packaged using disposable materials. For example, straight drinking straws are often wrapped in paper, which is peeled off just prior to use of the straw.
Often in fast food establishments, a customer who purchases a soda, coffee, or other beverage drink is able to dispense his or her own drink by filling a lightweight, disposable container with the chosen beverage. The customer must then set the full beverage container down on a countertop in order to apply a disposable container lid onto the lip of the container without spilling the beverage. (“Lip” is a term of art usually denoting the uppermost part of a container where the user's lip is placed, but used in this application it also means the lowermost part of a container—bottom lip of cup 36—as depicted in FIG. 15.) Finally, it is common for the customer to peel a wrapper from a straw and insert it into a slot in the container lid. The present invention does not interrupt the integrity of currently available beverage container and container lid designs. By not interrupting the integrity of currently available designs, it is meant that the present invention is manufactured so that the straw fits “hand-in-glove” in a specially-designed and -constructed location on the device. Also by not interrupting the integrity of currently available designs, the present invention integrates the construction of the container or the container's lid and straw, when the container and the container's lid are integral. The present invention does this by modifying the container and/or its integral container lid to create a specially-designed location that encases or encloses the straw to secure it in storage until the user removes the straw for use or reuse. Accordingly, an objective of the present invention is to meld form with fun and function, rather than disturb the integrity of the design. Unlike prior art (Lin/Cooper/Sweet/Kalagian/Tomiati) that teaches the straw “attached to” or “mounted on” a device, the present invention teaches the straw encased within specially designed locations on specially designed containers. Based on the above, the current invention, then, teaches a device that is visually appealing, structurally secure, reusable (sustainable through multiple uses) and therefore, maintains the continuity, rather than interrupts, the integrity of currently available beverage container and container lid designs.
Currently, most drinking straws are packaged separately and are inserted vertically into the beverage container by the end user. Drinking straws typically are inserted in a pre-cut slot that may or may not be located in the center of the lid. Commonly available, relatively rigid drinking straws often present a challenge when the user is trying to extract residual beverage from the bottom of the container. Furthermore, contact between the straw and the user's mouth is often awkward. A device is needed that will furnish a customer with a unitary straw-containing device that is more convenient and less awkward in use. By convenient and less awkward in use, it is meant that where the device is a unitary container and straw, the straw is encased flexibly in a generally ring-shaped, coiled (spiral). or angled manner within a specially-designed channel located on a horizontal surface of the container. That is, there is a need for a beverage straw-containing device where the device is unitary and integrally constructed, such that the length of the straw is proportional at all times to the container/lid device. Alternatively, the straw is removably enclosed in a ring-shaped coiled, or angled manner within a tube called a channel enclosure. Similarly, where the device is a unitary container lid and straw, the straw is removably enclosed in a generally ring-shaped, coiled, or angled manner within the specially designed channel enclosure located within a horizontal surface of the container lid. The present invention teaches a straw-containing device that is structurally conformed for the straw or form-fitted—for the straw to fit “hand-in-glove”—rather than awkwardly with the container/container lid. The units of the present invention can be packaged so that the number of separate items required for beverage dispensing is reduced from three units (container, straw, and lid) to one, or less preferably two, units. In other words, the beverage straw-containing devices of this invention are of two- or three-piece construction, yet unitary, in that are they are packaged, preferably as one unit or two units, rather than three separately packaged units.
There also is a need for a straw-containing device that is adaptable to multiple use (reusable) applications. For example, a drinking straw may be permanently affixed to a multiple use drinking container, principally for use by a child. Many of these containers, however, while convenient, are difficult to clean and maintain in a sanitary condition. The integrity of the present invention rests in its secure, reusable construction, yet separability from the container, creating in its reusable embodiment an opportunity for the user to clean and sanitize the separate parts by hand or with the use of a dishwasher. Consequently, a straw-containing device is needed where the straw is more convenient, novel, and not obstructive in storage, but when extracted from storage and reshaped by the user, it is hygienic, comfortable in use, and reuse. The device of the current invention more appropriately teaches a device of sustainable long-term, multiple home, outdoor, and office use. In its multiple use or reusable application, the invention of the current device would be manufactured for the gifts/novelty items market that has a higher price point than taught by prior art. The device of the current invention also can be made of eco-friendly or sustainable materials such as durable plastic or composites. Alternatively, the device can be made of a combination of plastic or other bendable, flexible resins for the straw, with the straw encased by or enclosed within glass, plastic, or metal devices that are washable by hand or by use of a dishwashing appliance—commercial or residential.
Whether in the home or on the go, children and adults often drink from containers with straws because of their novelty or convenience, or because of an inability to drink conventionally from a container. The present invention allows a person to drink from a disposable or reusable container with a drinking straw that is convenient to access, and unlikely to be separated from the container or lost in transit from, for example, a fast food restaurant counter to a table in the fast food restaurant. Similarly, users will appreciate the convenience of a storage place specially designed for the straw in the reusable manner of the current invention. They also will appreciate that each item (cup or lid and straw) may be separated for cleaning, and later combined for safe-keeping and storage for use at a later time. The present invention is an improvement over Pugh and Kalagian in that Pugh's and Kalagian's devices are designed for single use only. The present invention also is adaptable to the variety of containers, such as cups, mugs, jugs, bottles, and cans, and container lid designs and materials utilized in the beverage industry. In the applications or embodiments of this invention, the drinking straw is bendable and its length is a multiple of the circumference of the container lid or the depth of the container in which the straw will be used. Furthermore, its length (as enclosed circumferentially or horizontally in a channel enclosure or tube in its location on the container or lid) is a multiple of the circumference of the container or container lid as determined by the depth of the container in which the straw will be used. This configuration of the straw on the device in a circular, coiled, spiral, or angular manner would assure that the length of the straw would be sufficient to allow the straw to extend sufficiently beyond the ton of the container when the straw is in use. This functionality creates a container with a straw that is only as long as is necessary to be used comfortably, rather than awkwardly, by the end user. In other words, to be functional, the length of the straw in the current straw-containing device has to be a multiple of the depth of the container in which it is to be used. This is because the straw at its optimal, usable length is wrapped around the container horizontally in a ring-shaped, coiled (spiral), or angled manner to achieve the needed length—hence the circular, coiled or spiral shape of its enclosure on the container. This type of relationship between the container or lid and the straw is neither anticipated nor taught by prior art. The invention of the current device is not merely a rearrangement of existing art, but is an improvement on commercially available straw devices, and meets a need for a contemporary container and straw device that is functionally new. In the applications of this invention, the drinking straw is bendable and its length is a multiple of the circumference of the container lid or the depth of the container in which the straw will be used. In summary, the combination of features of the current device that are not similar to prior art or to other devices, and which teach new art from that currently on the market are:                Completely removable straw that when removed from storage is intact and functional;        Straw encased within a surface of, but not attached to or mounted on, the device;        The construction of the straw-containing device is modified to accommodate the straw;        The length of the straw is a multiple of the circumference of the container lid or the depth of the container in which the straw will be used        The entire device is stable, and not subject to failure due to heat or moisture;        The straw of the device is securely enclosed, and not subject to separation during transport;        The device is easily packaged using conventional package industry practices and Standards;        The device is suitable as replacement parts, with similar parts being interchangeable;        The straw of the current device can be removed, and reused multiple times;        The straw in storage in the current device can be kept sanitary before use;        The structurally integral device and all of its parts are washable after use;        The integral, unitary device and all of its parts, depending upon the material used for manufacture, is suitable for multiple uses;        With the use of reusable materials (natural and manmade), the integral, unitary device supports the contemporary movement of creating a more sustainable environment.        